Vehicle bow-top holder



C. L. BAIR.-

VEHICLEBOW o? HO LDER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE H, 1919.

1:,408,161 Patented Feb. 28, 1922 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

CLARENGE L. BATE, OF ST. JOSE-PH. MECI-IIGAN, ASSIGNOB 'lO AUTOSPECIALTIES MANUFACTURING 00., CALIFORNIA.

ixTCZbCO, CALIFORNIA, -A CORPORATION OF VEHICLE BOW-TOP HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed February 21, 1917, Serial No. 150,068.Divided and this application filed June 11, 1919. serial No; 303,354.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that l, Cranmer L. BANK, a citizen of the United States,residing at tit. Joseph, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Vehicle Bow- TopHolders, of which the following is a specification.

This application is a division of my earlier application, Serial Number150,068, filed February 21st, 1917.

This invention relates to vehicle bow top holders now in common use, oneform of which is shown in my prior U. S Patent Number 1,010,110, and isan improvement upon my prior application, Serial Number 72,624, filedJanuary 17th, 1916. The object of the invention is to provide means forpreventing the locking link which connects the swinging arm to the stockfrom slipping too far down the stock so that the link can be broken.

The invention consists in a device capable of carrying out the foregoingobjects, which can be easily and cheaply made, which is satisfactory inoperation and is not readily liable to get out of order. It further consists in the features and details of=construction which will behereafter more fully set forth in the specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar numerals indicate the sameparts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a front, and

Figure 2 is a side view of mechanism illustrating this invention in itspreferred form, the parts thereof being in closed position or in thatposition which they will assume when embracing the bows of a vehicletop.

Figure 3 is a changed position view of the device of Figure 1, showingthe bow holder open ready to admit the bows of the vehicle top.

As is well understood in the art, the bow separator itself comprises astock member 10 having pivoted to it at 12 a swinging arm 14: securableat its top to the stock by the mechanism hereafter described, therebeing between the stock and arm an elongated space 16 within which thebows (not shown) of the top of the vehicle to which the device isapplied are adapted, when folded down,

to rest and be secured bvthe device against jumping, rubbing andchafing.

The holder is detachably securable to the vehicle body by the mechanism18, or any other suitable mechanism. for the purpose. the same formingno part of the invention of this application, and therefore not described'in detail.

Modern practice requires that the arm let be lined with a rubber cushion20, and that this rubber cushion be provided along its length with oneor more how lifts 22 adapted, as the arm 14 is closed, to lift theadjacent bow of the top into concave recess 23 which is the real bowseparator, all as more clearly the link 38 passing over and locking innotch 4 or bearing 52 upon a specially formed upper end portion 10 ofstock 10, said notch opening rearwardly cf the stock, as shown The levermember 3a operated on fulcrum point or pivot 36 creates a powerfulpressure upon the link 38 to stretch it and thus hold the stock and armtogether. As the parts are all of metal, it is essential, in order toavoid breaking of the link 38, that all the parts be in proper position,shown in Figure 1, when this stretching operation takes place. As thelink 36 is made of parallel bars, as shown (see Figure 2), somewhatwider than the normal thickness of the stock 10, there is danger, underordinary conditions, of the link 38 slipping downward on the stock 10 toa point, say 50, instead of resting in the notch 52, formed in themember 10, heretofore described, and if the link 38 should so drop downto 50 and then closing pressure be exerted on the lever 34, the link 38would be unduly strained, with the result of breaking either the link 38or lever 34 or attached parts. This difiiculty is overcome by placing onat least one side of the stock 10, preferably on both, a projecting stopmember 54 of su'liicient length as to alwaysengage the link member 38and elfectually prevent any part of the link moving down the stock beyond this stop, or the pair of stops it they are on both sides.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device of the character described, comprising a stock arranged tobe attached to a vehicle body, an arm hinged adjacent to one-end of saidstock, an operating lever pivotally mounted upon the tree extremity ofsaid arm, 'a link carried by said lever adapted to pass over and engagethe free end of the stock to clamp the bows of a vehicle top betweensaid stock and said arm, said link being of such a size that it could,but for a stop, pass an indefinite distance down said stock, and a stopdevice adjacent to the upper end of the stock adapted to prevent unduemovement of the link along the stock beyond its end, for the purposesset forth.

2. A device of the character described,

comprising a stock arranged to be attached to a vehicle body, an armhinged adjacent to one end of said stock, an operating lever pivotallymounted upon the tree extremity of said arm, a link carried by saidlever adapted to pass over and engage the free end of the stock to clampthe bows of a vehicle top between said stock and said arm, said linkbeing of such a size that it could, but for a stop, pass an indefinitedistance down said stock, and a stop device adjacent to the upper end ofthe stock projecting from the side of the stock across the normal planeof travel of a part of the link adapted to prevent undue movement of thelink along the stock beyond its end, for the purposes set forth.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a stock arranged tobe attached to a vehicle body, an arm hinged adjacent to one end of saidstock, an operating lever pivotally mounted upon the free extremity ofsaid arm, a link carried by said lever adapted to pass over and engagethe free end of the stock to clamp the bows of a vehicle top betweensaid stock and said arm, said link being of such a size that it could,but for a stop, pass an indefinite distance down said stock, and a stopdevice adjacent to the upper end of the stock projecting from the sideof the stock parallel to the axis of thepivotal mounting between thestock and arm across the normal plane of travel of a part of the linkadapted to prevent undue movement of the link along the stock beyond itsend, for the purposes set forth.

L In a bow-clamping device, the combination of a vertical stock equippedwith body attaching means, said stock having its up:

per end provided with a rearwardlyppen" recessed bearing, a bow-clampingmember having its lower end portion pivotally connected with thelower'end portion of said stock, alever carried by the upper end of saidbow-clamping member and equipped with a stock-engaging member adapted toproject past the upper end of said stock and engage said bearing, saidlink being of such a size that it could but for a stop pass anindefinite distance down-said stock, and a stop mechanism at the upperend of the stock adapted to prevent the stock engaging members evermoving downward along the stock, thus to insure the stock engagingmembers engaging only with said bearing on the stock. i

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presenceof two witnesses.

WVitnesses:

C. B. WINSLOW, W. V. TOWNSEND,

CLARENCE L. BAIR.

